Rental Property Market trends – Torbay Lettings

In simple terms, the rental market is crazy busy right now. Every area we deal with is seeing huge demand which is far outstripping the supply of rental property. But there are some area-specific trends within this busy rental market. What are the trends we are seeing in the Torbay lettings market?

Demand is high for everything, 2- and 3-bedroom properties, flats and houses. There isn’t a great deal of properties becoming available which is leading to even stronger demand for those properties which are available. A chicken and egg situation is occurring where no one is going to move unless they can find somewhere they want to move to, and consequently, there are few options for where to move to.

The result can be a bit of a bun fight for every property and a lot of frustration. I spoke to someone recently who told me they were number 40 on the viewing list for a property!

At Bright Star, we don’t believe it is helpful to line up 20, 30 or even 40 people to view a property. Particularly with the current need for Covid-considerations such as sanitising between each viewing. Therefore, we will normally line up 3-5 viewings initially in a block and then if needed go to the next 3-5 and so on. We hope this saves everyone time and frustration.

The demand for rooms to rent in shared houses is particularly high in Torbay. However prospective tenants need to be reminded that if they are currently on any benefits, in general, these benefits are unlikely to cover the full rent and they will likely need to top up their benefits to ensure they can cover the full rent. Rates are lower for a room in shared property rather than a self-contained bedsit or one-bedroom flat.

As always properties with outside space are really attractive even if it is just a small patio. Outdoor space has always been an excellent selling point for rental properties, but since the March 2020 Lockdown outdoor space has become a much higher priority for tenants. Even if the outdoor space is only a balcony or patio, or even a shared garden.

One thing Landlords do need to consider is not to take the high demand for granted. We are seeing some landlords who are trying to use the high demand to significant overprice their properties or to have particularly strict criteria for prospective tenants. This is unlikely to benefit the landlord in the long run. If you want the right tenants then they need to make the property attractive for those tenants. Think about the type of tenant you wish to attract and then pitch your rental property at an appropriate level. There may be demand but that doesn’t mean that tenants aren’t picky!